Real transformation starts with a few: Identify your change champions
- Emilio Vadillo
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
Some time ago, during a conversation with a client, a familiar topic came up: the lack of commitment and ambition from some employees when facing change.
This challenge is neither new nor unique to any one company. It’s deeply rooted in human nature and the way we’ve been taught to perceive the world.
Shadows in organizations
Plato described this phenomenon in “The Allegory of the Cave”. In his story, people are chained inside a cave from birth, seeing only the shadows projected on the wall. To them, those shadows are reality.
Only a few manage to break free, see the light, and discover the real world. But when they try to return and explain what they’ve seen — and how easy it is to step out — they face resistance. Those still in the cave distrust their words and prefer to cling to the reality they know.
This same dynamic happens in organizations. Only 5% to 10% of employees are willing to challenge what they’ve always known and embrace new ways of doing things.
It’s not about lack of skill or bad intentions. It’s about how we’ve been shaped by our education, our environment, and the organizational culture we operate in.
The key is to identify that 5-10% early in the transformation, because they will become your champions — those who help drive change from within, influencing their teams and creating real momentum.
Investing time in identifying and empowering them early on can make the difference between a real transformation and just another attempt that fails to take off.
How to ensure change is adopted and sustained over time
For transformation to truly happen, processes, tools, or inspirational speeches are not enough. You need a structured approach that mobilizes the organization.
McKinsey’s influence model proposes four key elements to achieve this:
Build conviction and a sense of purpose
Change doesn’t happen just by imposing it — it happens because people believe in it.
Communicating the why behind the transformation and connecting with individual motivators makes all the difference.
Example actions:
Create and share a clear and powerful change story that connects with the organization’s purpose
Align the transformation with the company’s values and mission in every communication space
Produce digital capsules featuring leaders and champions motivating the change
Lead by example
You can’t ask teams to change if leaders continue operating the same way.
Leaders must be the first to embody new behaviors and ways of working.
Example actions:
Integrate leaders into key sessions, not just as observers
Place champions in the most visible and strategic teams to inject energy and show that change is real
Facilitate spaces where leaders listen directly to the challenges and concerns of the people involved in the change
Reinforce with formal mechanisms
It’s not enough to say what is expected — it must be reflected in processes, incentives, and company structures.
If change is a priority, it should be visible in metrics, decisions, and resource allocation.
Example actions:
Include transformation progress indicators in business dashboards and executive committees
Adjust recognition and incentive systems to reward those driving change
Review internal processes and eliminate those that block transformation
Build skills and capabilities
People don’t resist change itself — they resist feeling incapable of operating in a new environment.
Empowering and training teams is key to enabling change without friction.
Example actions:
Design upskilling programs for leaders and teams on critical topics
Create experimentation labs where people can practice without fear of failure
Provide coaching or mentoring from champions to support those involved in the change
Step out of the cave and make change happen
Organizational change is not a side project or a process that can be delegated.
It’s a transformation that must be driven by leadership, amplified by the champions within the company, and sustained by a structured influence model.
In the end, the true challenge of any transformation is not strategy or technology — it’s getting people to step out of the cave and dare to see what’s possible. And that only happens when change stops being an idea and becomes a daily experience, driven by those who believe in it.
If your organization feels trapped in a cave, seeing only the shadows of what could be, let’s talk.
At Trascend, we help you design strategies that turn the intention to change into real and sustainable action.
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